Snipes, Van Damme, Others Pulling Double Duty in ’11

Moviehole’s list of 20 Direct-to-DVD Movies Coming in 2011 brings to light the fact that Wesley Snipes, Richard Grieco, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Billy Zane will be making appearances more than once throughout the year. Snipes, apparently knocking out as many films as possible before entering the clink, will be in Game of Death and Gallowwalker next year, while Grieco, who’s actually been acting pretty consistently since his 21 Jump Street days, will appear in both Cats Dancing on Jupiter and Almighty Thor. Van Damme and Lundgren will appear in yet another Universal Soldier sequel and while Lundgren also stars in a Uwe Boll-directed sequel to In the Name of the King, Van Damme will star in the actioner Weapon. Billy Zane will appear in the latest Scorpion King sequel and hit man road movie Guido.

Check out the full list, which features films starring Hilary Swank, Val Kilmer, C. Thomas Howell, and more.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration Interview: Dolph Lundgren

Gordon and the Whale has a video interview with Dolph Lundgren from last year’s Fantastic Fest about the latest Universal Soldier sequel which at the time was called A New Beginning, but is out now as Regeneration.  Lundgren talks about his initial reluctance to return to the franchise and what excites him about this installment.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration Reviews: Van Damme Good

Reviews are in for the latest installment in the Unversal Soldier franchise, and the return of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren to the series seems to be a welcome one.  Universal Soldier: Regeneration headlines UFC champ Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, but his addition to the series doesn’t leave nearly as much of an impression as Van Damme’s re-introduction which, for DreadCentral, is where the film takes off:

“…this was the most badass I think I have ever seen Jean-Claude Van Damme look in any of his films. From then on the quality of the action steps up, and there is almost nothing but solid b-level action until the credits roll.”

Although the choicest quote is reserved for the Lundgren/Van Damme showdown:

“…Lundgren and Van Damme engage in one hell of a sumo rematch during which the two of them burst through more walls than Kool-Aid Man has in his entire pitchman career.”

Video Business and Moviehole are equally impressed.  IMDB has it at 6.9/10 with 1,327 votes counted so far.

Unversal Soldier: Regneration Trailer Posted

Got word from Sci Fi Wire (SyFy’s entertainment blog, somehow using the proper spelling for “Sci Fi”) that there’s a trailer out for the latest entry in the Universal Soldier saga, Regeneration, which reunites Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren for the first time since the original Universal Soldier.  For those of you keeping score, this is the third entry, following Universal Soldier: The Return, which has Van Damme fighting Michael Jai White.  This time he fights both Lundgren and mixed martial arts star Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration launches February 2nd.  You can pre-order it here.

Here’s the trailer…

Interview: EVERYONE From Command Performance

The thorough Web site for Dolph Lundgren’s latest writing/directing/starring vehicle Command Performance has an interview page with links to interviews with everyone from the cast to the fight choreographer.  These aren’t just blurbs, mind you.  The one with the cinematographer goes on for three substantive pages about the shooting style.  Ironically, the only interview that seems to be missing is one with Dolph himself, who, while we weren’t paying attention, has directed five films, three of which he co-wrote.

The site describes the film as “Die Hard meets Inside Man at a rock concert” and promises to showcase Dolph’s “hidden drumming skills.”

At this point, I don’t understand how you could NOT want to watch this, but if you need more prodding, it’s actually racking up the high score on IMDb.

Command Performance takes the stage November 3rd.  You can pre-order it here.